Nouns and gender

Every Spanish noun has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine. Unlike German, there's no neuter, and unlike French, Spanish gender is fairly predictable from word endings. This is one of the first concepts to master, as it affects articles, adjectives, pronouns, and agreement throughout the language.

The two genders

Spanish uses "el" for masculine nouns and "la" for feminine nouns. The good news: most nouns ending in -o are masculine, and most ending in -a are feminine. This pattern holds about 90% of the time, making Spanish gender easier than French:

Gender	Definite article	Example
Masculine	🔊 el	🔊 el libro (the book)
Feminine	🔊 la	🔊 la casa (the house)

Grammatical gender often has nothing to do with natural gender:

• 🔊 la mesa (the table) is feminine
• 🔊 el vestido (the dress) is masculine
• 🔊 el problema (the problem) is masculine

Predicting gender

Spanish gender is more predictable than German. These patterns cover most cases:

Masculine patterns

Nouns are usually masculine (el) if they:

Pattern	Examples
End in -o	🔊 el libro, 🔊 el vaso, 🔊 el cielo
Refer to male people/animals	🔊 el padre (father), 🔊 el gato (male cat)
End in -or	🔊 el color, 🔊 el amor, 🔊 el valor
End in -aje	🔊 el viaje (trip), 🔊 el mensaje (message)
End in -ma (Greek origin)	🔊 el problema, 🔊 el tema, 🔊 el sistema
Are days of the week	🔊 el lunes, 🔊 el martes
Are languages	🔊 el español, 🔊 el inglés
Are rivers, mountains, seas	🔊 el Amazonas, 🔊 el Everest

Feminine patterns

Nouns are usually feminine (la) if they:

Pattern	Examples
End in -a	🔊 la casa, 🔊 la mesa, 🔊 la palabra
Refer to female people/animals	🔊 la madre (mother), 🔊 la gata (female cat)
End in -ción / -sión	🔊 la nación, 🔊 la televisión, 🔊 la canción
End in -dad / -tad	🔊 la ciudad, 🔊 la verdad, 🔊 la libertad
End in -tud	🔊 la actitud, 🔊 la juventud
End in -umbre	🔊 la costumbre, 🔊 la cumbre
End in -ie	🔊 la serie, 🔊 la superficie

Common exceptions

Some important nouns break the patterns:

Feminine nouns ending in -o:

• 🔊 la mano (hand)
• 🔊 la radio (radio)
• 🔊 la foto (photo — short for fotografía)
• 🔊 la moto (motorcycle — short for motocicleta)

Masculine nouns ending in -a:

• 🔊 el día (day)
• 🔊 el mapa (map)
• 🔊 el planeta (planet)
• 🔊 el sofá (sofa)
• 🔊 el yoga
• Words ending in -ma (Greek origin): 🔊 el problema, 🔊 el tema, 🔊 el programa, 🔊 el sistema, 🔊 el clima

Nouns that can be either:

• 🔊 el/la artista (artist)
• 🔊 el/la estudiante (student)
• 🔊 el/la periodista (journalist)
• 🔊 el/la turista (tourist)

Plural forms

Forming plurals is straightforward:

Singular ending	Plural rule	Example
Vowel	Add -s	🔊 libro → 🔊 libros, 🔊 casa → 🔊 casas
Consonant	Add -es	🔊 ciudad → 🔊 ciudades, 🔊 papel → 🔊 papeles
-z	Change to -ces	🔊 luz → 🔊 luces, 🔊 vez → 🔊 veces
Accented vowel	Add -s or -es	🔊 café → 🔊 cafés, 🔊 rubí → 🔊 rubíes

Plural articles

Singular	Plural
🔊 el	🔊 los
🔊 la	🔊 las
🔊 un	🔊 unos
🔊 una	🔊 unas

Examples:

• 🔊 el libro → 🔊 los libros
• 🔊 la casa → 🔊 las casas
• 🔊 un amigo → 🔊 unos amigos
• 🔊 una amiga → 🔊 unas amigas

Indefinite articles

The indefinite articles ("a/an") also reflect gender:

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	🔊 un	🔊 unos (some)
Feminine	🔊 una	🔊 unas (some)

Examples:

• 🔊 un libro — a book
• 🔊 una mesa — a table
• 🔊 unos libros — some books
• 🔊 unas mesas — some tables

Article usage

Spanish uses articles differently from English. You'll use "el/la" in many situations where English would use no article at all. Understanding these patterns prevents common mistakes and makes your Spanish sound more natural:

When to use the definite article

Spanish uses el/la more often than English uses "the":

Use with:

• Abstract nouns: 🔊 El amor es importante. (Love is important.)
• General categories: 🔊 Me gustan los perros. (I like dogs.)
• Languages (usually): 🔊 Hablo el español. (I speak Spanish.)
• Days of the week: 🔊 El lunes tengo clase. (On Monday I have class.)
• Titles with third person: 🔊 El señor García está aquí. (Mr García is here.)
• Body parts and clothing: 🔊 Me lavo las manos. (I wash my hands.)

Don't use with:

• Titles in direct address: 🔊 Buenos días, señor García.
• Indefinite quantities: 🔊 Necesito agua. (I need water.)
• After ser with professions: 🔊 Soy profesor. (I'm a teacher.)

Contractions

Two contractions are mandatory:

• a + el = al: 🔊 Voy al mercado. (I'm going to the market.)
• de + el = del: 🔊 El libro del profesor. (The teacher's book.)

These don't apply to la, los, or las.

Agreement

Adjectives must agree with nouns in gender and number:

Noun	Adjective	Meaning
🔊 el libro rojo	red (m. sing.)	the red book
🔊 la casa roja	red (f. sing.)	the red house
🔊 los libros rojos	red (m. pl.)	the red books
🔊 las casas rojas	red (f. pl.)	the red houses

Adjective patterns

Adjective type	Masculine	Feminine
Ends in -o	🔊 alto	🔊 alta
Ends in consonant	🔊 fácil	fácil
Ends in -e	🔊 grande	grande
Nationality in consonant	🔊 español	🔊 española
Ends in -dor/-tor	🔊 trabajador	🔊 trabajadora

Common nouns by category

People

Spanish	Gender	English
🔊 el hombre	m	man
🔊 la mujer	f	woman
🔊 el niño / 🔊 la niña	m/f	child (boy/girl)
🔊 el amigo / 🔊 la amiga	m/f	friend
🔊 la familia	f	family
🔊 los padres	m	parents
🔊 el hermano / 🔊 la hermana	m/f	sibling

Things

Spanish	Gender	English
🔊 la casa	f	house
🔊 el apartamento	m	apartment
🔊 la mesa	f	table
🔊 la silla	f	chair
🔊 la cama	f	bed
🔊 la puerta	f	door
🔊 la ventana	f	window
🔊 el libro	m	book

Abstract concepts

Spanish	Gender	English
🔊 el tiempo	m	time / weather
🔊 la vida	f	life
🔊 el amor	m	love
🔊 el trabajo	m	work
🔊 el dinero	m	money
🔊 la lengua / 🔊 el idioma	f/m	language
🔊 la idea	f	idea
🔊 el problema	m	problem

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